Emissions reduction to control global warming is

DONALD Trump has announced he is withdrawing the US from the Paris climate change agreement in a bid to create a "level playing field" for the American economy.Criticising its impact on US markets, he officially announced the withdrawal yesterday afternoon - ending a week of intense speculation.Although he was reported to have kept an "open mind" about the deal over the past few weeks, his decision is unsurprising given he refused to bow to G7 leaders' demands he remain in during last week's summit.European leaders begged him not to withdraw during the meeting in Sicily, but he said only that his final decision would be announced yesterday.Announcing his decision in the White House Rose Garden on Thursday, the President argued the agreement held back US economic might."This agreement is less about the climate and more about other countries obtaining a financial advantage over the United States", he said.Trump added that he wanted to create a "level playing … [Read more...] about Donald Trump pulls US out of Paris climate change agreement and vows to create a ‘level playing field’ for the American economy

On Thursday, Sept. 27, a US-sponsored, two-day meeting of the world's biggest greenhouse gas polluters got underway. The talks are billed as a prelude to a December negotiating session in Bali, Indonesia, aimed at formulating a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. The Washington talks came hard on the heels of a similar gathering on Monday when the United Nations hosted a major meeting -- attended by heads of state and celebrity environmentalists like former US Vice-President Al Gore and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- on how to fight climate change. Steiner said US engagement on global warming is "a positive sign" Representatives from the world's richest nations as well as key emerging economies, including Brazil, China and India were present in Washington. The talks were seen as highlighting the difference between the Bush administration's call for voluntary measures to fight global warming and the … [Read more...] about UN Climate Chief “Conditionally Optimistic” on Emissions Control

Europe's four hottest years on record were 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2004, the agency said. "Ten percent of Alpine glaciers disappeared during the summer of 2003 alone," the report said. "At current rates, three-quarters of Switzerland's glaciers will have melted by 2050. Europe has not seen climate changes on this scale for 5,000 years." The report was issued at the agency's headquarters in Copenhagen, coinciding with the first full day of debate at key UN talks on curbing the greenhouse gases that stoke global warming. In the 20th century, the average global temperature rose 0.7 C (1.25 F) as a result of burning coal, gas and coal -- the carbon fuels that are mainly to blame for the rise. But the rise in Europe was 0.95 C (1.71 F), 35 percent higher, because of the continent's vulnerable location and smaller land mass, the EAA said. "Without effective action over several decades, global warming will see ice sheets melting in the north and the spread of deserts from the south. The … [Read more...] about Europe Facing Environmental Disaster Through Global Warming

Government representatives and environmental experts from 180 countries will meet in Milan from December 1-12 for an annual review of U.N. efforts to tackle climate change. The overarching issue for the 12-day meeting is expected to be the U.N.’s groundbreaking 1997 Kyoto Protocol on global warming, which suffered a serious setback in September after Russian President Vladimir Putin shied away from promises that Moscow would ratify the key environmental treaty soon. Moscow the environmental kingmaker The fate of the Kyoto Protocol, which sets individual targets for industrialized countries to lower their emissions of carbon gases on average by 5.2 percent below their 1990 levels over the next 10 years, now rests in Moscow’s hands after the United States pulled out in 2001. Washington argued at the time that the Kyoto Protocol was too expensive and unfairly excluded developing nations. So far 119 nations including the EU member states, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Brazil, … [Read more...] about Kyoto Set to Dominate Milan Climate Talks

Looking down from one of the majestic mountain ranges that lie a few hours drive from Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi, lush valleys spread out for kilometers, and Lake Naivasha glimmers in the distance, teeming with wildlife. But the reality behind this apparent Garden of Eden is very different. It’s partly the fault of Kenya’s ever growing population, the ensuing man-made pollution, and the speed at which its forests are being felled for fire wood. But it’s also because the effects of climate change are making themselves felt here. Nelly Damaris Chepkoskei, a farmer from Kericho District outside of Nairobi, is 50 years. She has clear smooth skin, her crinkly jet black hair is streaked with gray wisps, and a ruby and gold cloth is wrapped elegantly around her head. She told DW-Radio that her country’s new climate reality has brought longer droughts, unexpected frosts, and mosquitoes. "I had not seen mosquitoes before and now there are so many" … [Read more...] about Kenya Signs Historical Emissions Agreement for Power Plant

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said the agreement reached at a summit in Brussels on Friday would usher in a new era in the fight against global warming. "It has been possible to, as it were, open the door to a new dimension of European cooperation for years to come in the area of energy and combating climate change," Merkel said. The accord's overarching achievement is to commit the 27-country bloc to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent by 2020, when compared to 1990 levels. The pact also obliges member countries to make renewable energies, such as solar and wind power, the source of 20 percent of the total energy consumption on average across the EU by 2020. "These are a set of ground-breaking, bold ambitious targets for the European Union," said British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who pushed hard for a climate agreement. "It gives Europe a very clear leadership position on this crucial issue facing the world." … [Read more...] about EU Clinches Climate Deal, But Hard Work Yet to Come

The EU and the G8 summit in Germany earlier this year "took international decisions to do more for climate protection," the chancellor said in her weekly podcast. "In particular we need a successor agreement to the Kyoto protocol that expires in 2012," she said. She said the UN Climate Conference starting in Bali on Monday needed to agree on a timetable so that negotiations on a follow-up agreement to Kyoto could be completed by the end of 2009. The Kyoto protocol, which went into effect in 2005, requires industrial countries to reduce their carbon emissions by 2012. But the world's two top CO2 polluters, the United States and China, are not bound to fixed reductions under the pact. Although the US signed the Kyoto protocol, it never ratified it. China's case is different: as a developing country, it was not bound by the protocol's emissions cap. The aim of the Bali meeting, which runs until Dec. 14, is to gain consensus on a formal framework for reaching a new … [Read more...] about Merkel Urges Rich Nations to Keep Promise on Climate Change

Steps to control global warming would require less than 0.1 percent of world's annual gross domestic product, according to the 24-page report released by the IPCC on Friday in Bangkok. "If we continue to do what we are doing now, we are in deep trouble," said Ogunlade Davidson, co-chair of the IPCC. "This report is all about solutions to climate change." The report presented a best-case scenario of limiting global warming to 2.0-2.4 degrees Celsius (3.6-4.3 degrees Fahrenheit), which is generally recognized as the threshold to avoiding the most extreme consequences of climate change. CO2 reduction still possible Protestors in Bangkok demanded governments take action on climate change There is "substantial" potential for the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions below current levels without crippling the global economy since many of the tools already exist and could be quickly implemented, the report said. Harnessing more solar, wind, and hydro-power could have a large … [Read more...] about Report: Reducing Global Warming Won’t Derail World Economy

"The United States' position on the Kyoto Protocol has not changed," spokesman Richard Boucher said. "We thought at this point it wasn't the right thing for the United States, but it's up to other nations to independently evaluate whether ratification is in their national interest." Russia had delayed a decision on the treaty for years as it weighed its own economic policies against the diplomatic benefits of allying itself closer to the United States or to Europe, the protocol's biggest group of supporters. But on Thursday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov told his cabinet colleagues that approval was vital. "The fate of the Kyoto protocol depends on Russia. If we ... rejected ratification, we would become the ones to blame (for its failure)," he said, according to Reuters news agency. Decision hailed internationally The decision was hailed by the EU, Germany and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, among others. The Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) shows … [Read more...] about US Sticks to Kyoto Rejection

Delegates to the conference have largely agreed on funding to help developing countries cope with an onset of natural disasters and extreme weather events brought about by climate change. But this agreement is being held hostage to disagreement over what happens next. The United States and Saudi Arabia are opposed to an EU proposal to hold seminars to talk about the second commitment period. Now that the Kyoto Protocol has been ratified, countries are required to reduce their CO2 output by an average of 5 percent by 2012, and the question remains what sort of measures are needed past that period. But without the participation of the United States, there is hardly any chance to make great progress. "The first phase of the protocol ends in 2012; after that it is unthinkable to go ahead without the United States, China and India," Italian Environment Minister Altero Matteoli told reporters in Buenos Aires. Matteoli also caused a stir by calling for the treaty's end in 2012 if those … [Read more...] about Planting the Seed to Stop Global Warming